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Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek, Vol READING AND PRONOUNCING BIBLICAL GREEK Vol. I Historical Evidence of Authentic Sounds _____________ Reference rom Excerpts f the introductory pages of the book Philemon Zachariou, Ph.D. Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek, Vol. I: Historical Evidence of Authentic Sounds Copyright © Philemon Zachariou GREEK LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS ISBN 978-1-4507-5492-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or other, without permission in writing by the author, except as provided by USA copyright law. Related books: Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek, Vol. II: Orthography and Phonetics Workbook Writing, reading, diacritics, pronunciation, continuous text reading (with CD) Biblical Greek, Vol. III: Grammar Essentials An all-in-one grammar book, pronunciation guide, and workbook featuring phonetically transliterated grammar and reading exercises, grammatical aspect, and translational insights (with CD) Website: Greeklinguistics.net Address: [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Philemon Zachariou graduated from high school in Greece and from a Bible school in England, and holds a B.A. and M.A. in applied linguistics and a Ph.D. in religious education. Retired, he writes and teaches Greek and English. During most of his career as an educator and public school administrator he taught, among other college subjects, Greek at California State University, the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Adult Education, and Capital Bible College. He is currently adjunct professor of English at Northwest University and New Testament Greek proctor for Bible Mesh Institute. Why This Book Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek addresses the oft-asked questions: ! How was “Koine” Greek pronounced in New Testament times? ! How similar is the pronunciation of Modern Greek to the Koine of the New Testament? ! How similar are the sounds of Koine and Attic Greek? ! Why is Erasmian so prevalent? Is it imitative of Attic Greek? To that end, it traces the origins of Koine sounds to classical and pre- classical times and follows their development so diachronic comparisons can be made; and it describes the origins and spread of Erasmian and assesses its effects on Greek scholarship and learning. The last chapter describes the Greek sounds, while the appendices examine Attic inscriptions at the Epigraphic Museum in Athens as presented in a special publication by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. CONTENTS Why this Book . v Endorsements . xi Acknowledgments . xiii Pronunciation Matters . xiv Questions . xv PART ONE . 1 Chapter 1 The Development of Κοινή . 3 1.1 The first Hellenes (Greeks) . 3 1.2 Periods of the Hellenic language . 3 1.3 Origin of Κοινή . 4 1.4 Spread of Κοινή . 5 1.5 The Septuagint written in Κοινή . 5 1.6 The Κοινή of the NT . 6 1.7 Byzantine Greek . 6 1.8 Byzantine Greek: Κοινή’s link to Neohellenic Greek . 7 1.9 Neohellenic: a continuation of Κοινή . 8 1.10 Greek dimorphia . 10 1.11 Historicity of the Greek alphabet . 11 1.12 Phonological definitions . 12 1.13 Orthophonic pronunciation and its significance . 13 Chapter 2 The Phonology of Κοινή: Development . 15 and Similarities to Neohellenic 2.1 A specific linguistic period . 15 2.2 Iotacism . 15 2.2.1 Interchange of ι-sound letters in Hellenistic papyri . 16 2.2.2 Interchange of ι-sound letters in the pre-classical . 17 and classical period 2.3 Iotacism in the NT MSS . 20 2.3.1 Interchange of letters in the NT MSS . 20 2.4 Iotacism today . 21 2.5 A five-vowel system . 21 2.6 Fricativization of postpositive –υ . 22 2.7 Effects of fricativization before Hellenistic times . 23 2.8 Fricativization mirrored in Neohellenic . 23 2.9 Further fricativization effects . 24 2.10 The consonants Φ, Θ, Χ . 24 2.10.1 Sidney Allen’s treatment of φ θ χ, π τ κ . 25 2.11 Robert Browning’s treatment of β δ γ, φ θ χ . 29 2.11.1 Browning’s description of consonant changes . 30 2.12 Euphonic b, d, g . 31 2.13 Greek δ not [d] . 32 2.13.1 Formal and informal spelling and pronunciation . 33 of νδ vs. ντ 2.14 Monophthongization of diphthongs . 34 2.15 Vowel quantity (length) . 36 2.15.1 Some methods of compensating for Homeric sound loss 37 2.16 Metrical use of “long” Η, Ω . 38 2.17 Pronunciation of H(η) and Ω(ω) . 40 2.18 Aspiration . 42 2.18.1 Sidney Allen’s treatment of “aspirate” H[h] . 43 2.19 Suprasegmental (prosodic) features . 45 2.19.1 Accent marks . 46 2.19.2 Phonological accent . 47 2.19.3 Rhythmical accent (ictus) . 47 2.20 Orthography and the sound Z . 48 2.21 Summary . 50 2.22 In retrospect . 50 2.23 Concluding remarks . 52 Chapter 3 The Historical Greek Pronunciation . 53 3.1 Introductory . 53 3.2 Formation of the historical Greek pronunciation (HGP) . 53 3.3 The HGP in Κοινή . 54 3.4 From Septuagint to New Testament . 55 3.5 The tenacity of the HGP . 57 3.6 “Modern Greek pronunciation” a misnomer . 60 3.7 Applying the HGP to NT Greek . 60 3.8 Testimonials . 61 PART TWO . 63 Chapter 4 Origins and Nature of the Erasmian Pronunciation . 65 4.1 Origins of the Erasmian pronunciation . 65 4.2 Latin transliteration of Greek . 67 4.3 Erasmian “Classical Greek” sounds applied to Biblical Greek 68 4.4 Erasmian inconsistencies . 69 4.5 Customized pronunciations of Greek . 70 4.5.1 Summary of Erasmian pronunciation inconsistencies . 70 4.6 Mispronunciation compounded by transliteration . 71 4.7 The consistency of Greek . 72 4.8 Conclusion . 73 4.9 Addendum: Genesis of the Erasmian Doctrine . 74 Chapter 5 Erasmian Misconceptions . 77 5.1 Two misconceptions about Neohellenic . 77 5.2 Misconception #1– difficult pronunciation . 77 5.3 English spelling and pronunciation . 78 5.4 Greek and English phonemes and corresponding . 80 alphabet letters 5.5 Greek vs. English orthography . 81 5.6 Greek vs. English phonology . 81 5.7 Concluding remarks and assessment . 81 5.8 Misconception #2 – dissimilar words . 82 Chapter 6 Erasmian Latitudes . 83 6.1 Greek and English vowel diagrams . 83 6.2 The Greek vowel diagram . 84 6.3 The English vowel and diphthong diagram . 84 6.4 An un-Greek view . 85 6.5 A prismatic Erasmian view . 86 6.5.1 Vowels . 86 6.5.2 Diphthongs . 87 6.6 Sidney Allen’s treatment of the Classical Attic . 88 vocalic system 6.7 Territorial interests . 93 Chapter 7 The Erasmian Harm and the Remedy . 95 7.1 The Erasmian dichotomy of Greek . 95 7.2 Light from the later Greek . 96 7.2.1 Neohellenic . 96 7.2.2 Byzantine and Medieval Greek . 98 7.3 The Erasmian harm . 99 7.4 The Erasmian force . 99 7.5 An ill-founded fear . 100 7.6 Applying the HGP: a step forward . 101 7.7 Closing remarks . 102 Chapter 8 Pronunciation Tips . 103 8.1 Tone vs. stress . 103 8.2 Stress in English . 103 8.3 English phonetic environment vs. Greek grammar . 103 8.4 English stress and Greek pitch-accent . 103 8.5 Accentuation . 104 8.6 Non-diphthongization . 106 8.7 Non-aspiration of , , . 106 [p t k] 8.8 The sounds b, d, g . 106 8.9 Palatalization of velars κ, γ, χ . 107 8.10 Palatalization of ι [i] as [j] . 108 8.11 Alphabetic consonants . 109 8.12 Consonant phonemes . 110 8.13 Vowels, vowel digraphs, and dieresis . 110 8.14 Nasal γ . 111 8.15 Voiced σ/ς . 111 8.16 The sounds τζ, τσ/ς . 111 Chapter Summaries . 113 Conclusions . 115 Closing Remarks . 117 The HGP Today . ..
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